When I Love You
by Jade Voice
Summary: A hopeless love. A broken heart. An attempt at distraction.
1. Road Obstacle

1 Road Obstacle

Sakura walked down the slippery road. Lights. Street cats. Rain. More Rain. That was all she saw that night. Somehow, she ended on the ground, her butt totally wet. She tilted her head up towards the sky and smiled as she felt the raindrops fall on her face.

* * *

_What in the world is that drunkard doing sitting in the middle of the road?_ Sasuke had beeped his car at least ten times, but the crazy woman was still grinning up at the rain. He got out, and slammed his car door impatiently.

"Get out of my way, woman."

He kicked her slightly with the edge of his polished black shoes. She looked up and him and smiled dreamily. Now, that did it. He was _so_ not in the mood for this right now. He didn't want to touch the alcoholic, but now he'd have to. He sighed and grabbed her roughly by the arm, planning to throw her onto the side of the road so he could go on his way.

The woman screamed. _Shit. _

"That hurts! Let go of me! Pervert! Rapist!"

She swung her red Balenciaga bag at his head and stepped on his toes. Hard.

"Bitch!"

He pushed her and she fell onto the ground again, water splashing everywhere. She started to get up again, her bag ready to strike a blow.

"Don't even think about trying to hit me, woman," he threatened. "I don't go easy on women. I won't hesitate to beat you senseless, rape you, and lock you in that trashcan if that's what it takes for me to go on my way."

"I'll scream."

"Oh, don't even think about—"

The angriest, most shrill scream he had ever heard in his entire life filled the damp air. Panicked, Sasuke closed his hands over her mouth and forced her up by holding the neck of her shirt.

She squirmed and kicked all the way to his car. How he managed to drive off without her escaping, he didn't know. All he knew was that a lady who lived on that street had peered out of her lighted window, and appeared to be dialing 911.

* * *

"Let me out! Let me OUT! LET ME OUT!!" screamed the crazy drunk woman from inside his bedroom door.

"Argh! SHUT UP for a moment, will you? Just for one moment! I am so _sick_ of you!"

Sasuke kicked the mahogany door.

"Then let me OUT! NOW! OR I'LL SCREAM!"

"No, I won't! Stop being fussy and shut up already! I can't let you out now anyway, because you'r friggin drunk! SO SCREAM ALL YOU WANT!" he shouted back.

So she screamed all she wanted. After about twenty seconds, Sasuke couldn't stand it anymore. He unbolted the door and went right to her.

"So you want to be out there in this thunderstorm? Can't you see you're drunk?!"

"I'M NOT DRUNK! LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU PERVERT! YOU KIDNAPPED ME! YOU—"

"SHUT UP! FINE! YOU WANT TO ME OUT THERE, HUH?"

He grabbed her by the hair and led her down the stairs, all the way to his front lawn.

"Ow! Stop! Stop pulling my hair! Stop, stop!" she began to cry.

He released her.

"There. Happy? Now go away and never come back."

Mahogany doors slammed in her face. Sakura continued crying. In the back of her mind, she knew she was being stupid. She'd wanted out of the house, but now, she wanted in. That guy was such a jerk, but at least he cared enough for her; he didn't want her to go out alone in a thunderstorm. Now, _even he'd_ left her.

Sakura leaned against the beautifully carved doors of the jerk, and slid down onto the floor. She bawled. For what reason, she could not identify. Flashes of blonde hair and blue eyes came into her mind. A girl with pale eyes. That graduation party. A searing pain shot through her heart, and Sakura thought she was ready to die.

"Everyone's left me. There's no reason for living. God, please have mercy on me and kill me now…"

She opened her eyes again to see black, polished shoes. She looked up. It was the jerk.

"You left your bag," he held up her bag to her.

Tears filled her eyes. She was so happy to see him. She didn't take her bag. For a minute, he stood there looking at her. She looked so lost, so torn, so…hopeless. Something shifted in his heart. Instead of the red bag, he now held out his hand to her.

"Get up, woman. You can stay the night."

When she didn't get up, he bent down and carried her up. He leaned into him and sobbed like there was no tomorrow. He put her onto his white sofa when he got into the house. Then, he stood back to take a look at her again.

Crazy drunk woman had an extremely pretty face, surprisingly. Her wet, white, cotton lace dress clung to her—again, surprisingly—full curves. Sasuke realized he hadn't fully observed her until this moment. Before then, he'd thought she was a crazy, alcoholic, rude, ugly hag. Now, he knew that she was a crazy, alcoholic, rude, attractive hag. Now, if she wasn't drunk, and she hadn't screamed at him, and she wasn't emotionally depressed, and she was one of his countless admirers, he would have definitely taken her to bed. Definitely. He smirked.

_I definitely could do it, but since I'm such a moral guy…naw. _

"I'm wet," she remarked.

The smirk immediately disappeared from his face. Crazy drunk woman was making being moral too hard for him. He had to stop thinking dirty thoughts.

"You need to go shower," he decided aloud.

She looked kind of sober now. She nodded.

"The bathroom's upstairs. Go take a shower."

She didn't move.

"Gosh, woman."

He scooped her up again and carried her to the bathroom. All the way, she snuggled against him, her soft breasts against his chest. If he could have his way…

They reached the bathroom at last. Sasuke placed her on the floor and quickly grabbed a towel and one of his shirts from the wardrobe, and threw them at her.

"Now, go shower."

He closed the door on her. Then, he stood listening, to see if she was even making an effort doing something. She wasn't. He knew she would have taken a shower at some point, but he just couldn't resist one last, not-entirely-innocent remark. Even if the only one who'd realize it would be him.

He opened the bathroom door and stuck his head in.

"Take off all your clothes," he said purposefully.

What shocked him was that she was already obeying his "order." Her white cotton lace dress lay discarded on the floor. She was sliding down her panties. Her look was one of confusion when she saw him.

Without saying a word, he immediately shut the door again. _Breathe in, breath out. That was definitely worth it. _

* * *

Author's Note: Don't know if continuing…but would like to hear comments. :)


	2. Departure

2 Departure

Sakura stared at the apple juice in her hand.

"Just drink it, so you can go home. It's not drizzling anymore."

She ignored him.

"Sir, I'm sincerely sorry I caused you trouble last night. I was intoxicated. I don't know how to repay you for taking me in during that storm. I—"

"Cut it out. It's just like feeling sorry for a puppy in the rain. Even I have a heart for that."

"Thank you, sir."

"…And don't call me sir. I'm only twenty-five, probably not much older than you. Just call me Sasuke."

She took a sober sip, then abruptly stood up. She bowed.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sasuke," a soft smile played on her lips when she looked up, "I'm Haruno Sakura. I won't interrupt you any longer; I'll send your clothes back to you when I've washed them."

"Sure. When you come back, I'll give your clothes back to you—they're not dry yet right now."

She smiled and bowed politely again, grabbed her bag, and began to head out. He couldn't really explain the feeling, but he was kind of sorry to see her go. He inwardly laughed at himself. Yesterday, he'd wanted the crazy drunk woman out of the way, but now, she seemed like very good company to him.

She was walking away from him way too fast. He bore his eyes into her behind, willing her to stop, turn around, and give him her number. Which was, duh, impossible. Which was why he almost had a heart attack when she actually stopped.

"I-Is there a problem?"

_Crap. I never stammer. _

She turned around, her bright-green eyes shocked. She was pointing at a picture frame which stood by his door. It was a picture of Sasuke and some of his foreign friends, when they were vacationing in Thailand.

"Sasuke, you know Naruto? And Hinata?" she indicated towards a man with blonde hair and a beautiful woman with long, silky black hair.

"Yea, I do! They're my friends! You know them too?"

_Nice. Very nice. I can get her number from them. _

Sakura now hesitated. She looked unsure.

"I…not really. I went to high school with them once, but we never talked much."

Sasuke couldn't believe he was pouting inside his brain.

"Ah, I see."

There was silence for a moment, in which she looked very wistful, but that passed. She collected herself.

"Well, I'd best get going now, Sasuke. See you soon."

"Yes. See you soon."

* * *

Naruto couldn't believe Sakura-chan was doing this to him again—ignoring him, for no apparent reason at all! At least, he couldn't think of the reason. What did he do? No, he didn't make perverted jokes in front of her. No, he didn't comment on her weight. No, he didn't forget to buy her that special yoghurt from the outskirts of Konoha where he often went. So what _was_ the problem?

"What are you doing, Naruto-kun?"

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and turned around to see an angelic-looking woman with long, silky black hair leaning over him.

"Ah…Hinata-chan. Sakura-chan's not talking to me again. I have no idea why," he sighed.

He was staring into his cellphone, staring at Sakura's number, wondering if he should give her a call. Hinata's pretty smile dropped a fraction.

"N-Naruto-kun, would you like to go out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant today?"

Her voice was too enthusiastic to be real.

"No, sorry, Hinata-chan."

"W-Why not?"

"Sorry, Hinata-chan. I really don't feel good today," he sighed again, putting down his cellphone.

Naruto didn't notice until two minutes later that it was completely and utterly silent in the room. He looked up to see his beloved girlfriend standing there, a look on her face that he had never, ever seen there before. _Fury?_

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?"

"I-I don't believe you, Naruto-kun…You still like her, don't you?" her voice shook like a volcano about to erupt.

"W-What?! What are you talking about, Hinata-chan? You're my girlfriend; I only like you."

He moved to embrace her, but she shook him off coldly.

"S-Stop it, Naruto-kun! Don't you have any idea how I feel? I'm talking about Sakura-chan!"

"She's just a friend, Hinata."

Her eyes started to fill up.

"I-If she is, then why are you acting like this? Naruto-kun, I'm sorry, but however I look at it, this is not how friends act. She ignores you, and you are sad. You always ask for her back. This has happened before, and I've watched it happened, and kept silent," she paused to wipe away the tears that were racing down her pale face, "but I can't do this anymore, Naruto-kun. I just can't."

"So how do you expect me to act, huh? A friend is ignoring me. I can't just leave it at that!"

She broke down and sobbed. He tried to rub her back, but again, she pushed him away.

"Don't you see, Naruto? Don't you see how she feels about you?" she asked when she could gather herself enough to talk.

"Huh?"

Naruto had no idea. Hinata stood up and grabbed her things.

"Naruto-kun. You know that I really love you," she told him sadly, "but this cannot go on."

"What? Hinata-chan you—"

She put up a hand to stop him.

"Please, Naruto-kun. Let me finish. Until you sort things out with Sakura-chan, we are over," she turned around and started to walk away.

"And please, Naruto-kun. Please don't follow me."

He was left alone, confused. What _was_ up with him and Sakura? He couldn't find the answer.


	3. Distractions

3 Distractions

"Who is it?"

The door kept banging.

"I said, who is it?" her voice became sharper.

"Open up, dammit!"

She stopped functioning for a fracture of a second. _Naruto._ Oh, no. Please don't tell me you're here to torture my heart.

"I SAID OPEN UP, DAMMIT, SAKURA-CHAN! OPEN!"

Seeing as she had no other option, she hesitantly opened the door. He pushed her and barged in.

"Hey! What was that for?!" she glared at him.

The blonde glared back.

"What was that for? _You ask what was that for_, Sakura-chan?"  
She took a step back.

"WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN IGNORING ME?"

"I HAVEN'T!" she shouted back.

"Stop denying! You were ignoring me! Why the hell haven't you been answering my calls? Why the hell haven't you been answering my messages on MSN?! Don't even play innocent! Tell me _now_!"

"NOTHING! Get out of my house!"

She tried to push him to the door, but only succeeded in getting both of her wrists trapped within his tight hold.

"NO! Not until you tell me why the hell have you been a bitch to me!"

As she tried to free herself, she started to cry.

"Let me go! Let me go! LET ME GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed.

"You're not going to tell me, Sakura-chan? You're going to learn this the hard way!"

He could hardly think of a time he'd been this angry at his best friend. He swung her over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, and proceeded to carry her all the way to the dining room. There, he found the rope that she kept in a cupboard for July-the-fourth decorations, and tied her to a chair. She screamed, kicked, bit, and tortured him all the way. But she lost.

"I WANT OUT OF THIS CHAIR! NARUTO, YOU'RE DEAD IF YOU DON'T' GET THIS FUCKING PIECE OF ROPE CRAP OFF OF ME _NOW_!"

"No! Not until you tell me."

Sakura cried and cried and cried. Naruto felt so sorry for her that he almost gave in, but he didn't. He couldn't. This was concerning _Hinata_. If he can't do something now, Hinata won't come back…

"Aw, come on, Sakura-chan," he changed his tactics, and tried to coax her, "please. We've been friends since before we could even talk, okay? You can tell me anything. What've I done wrong? Hm? I won't be offended or anything, Sakura-chan. Let's just be friends again."

"No, I can't!"

By now, her whole face was wet with tears.

"Huh? Why not?"

"YOU NEVER UNDERSTAND ME, YOU IDIOT!"

She started bawling.

"Whoa. Whoa! WHOA! HEY! Sakura-chan! HEY! Calm down! What's wrong?"

"YOU FUCKING IDIOT! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU THE MOST IN THIS WORLD! YOU'RE SO STUPID!"

"WHOA! What the—…hey, calm down, okay?"

"NO! YOU'RE SO STUPID! DON'T YOU REALIZE IT? WHY I'M TRYING TO DISTANCE MYSELF FROM YOU?!"

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT TO TRY TO DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM ME?! I THOUGHT WE WERE BEST FRIENDS!"

Sakura gave a bitter laugh.

"Yes. Yes, that's right, Naruto. That's what you thought of me—friends, best friends. But I don't think of you like that, Naruto."

The blonde stared at her face, a solitary tear rolling down, trying to decipher what she meant.

"I love you, Naruto. I always have."

And everything stopped. For five whole minutes, Naruto paced around the room, around her chair. His hands occasionally came up to rub the middle of his forehead, thinking, shocked.

"Do you understand now, Naruto?" her sweet voice broke his stunned silence. "I knew you would never love me as I loved you. So I tried to distance myself…"

Her voice shook, and more tears spilled.

"…But you wouldn't _let_ me, you idiot! I really wanted to stop loving you. I really, really do! That's why I hate you! You torture me so much, and I…I just want to end this stupid, hopeless pain!"

"Sakura-chan…"

"Naruto, do you know how many times you broke my heart? Every time you got a new girlfriend, my heart broke. And every time you broke up, you gave me hope. But you can't imagine the pain I went through when I saw you kiss Hinata-chan like that at our graduation party. I could see that you really loved the girl this time, Naruto…" another crystal slid down her smooth cheek. "…And my heart broke again…and this time, there was _no hope_, Naruto."

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan."

He hung his head, and he was crying too. He couldn't believe how stupid he was, for not realizing. For making her go through all this pain…

"It's okay, Naruto. Please leave me alone now. Go back to Hinata-chan, please."

Without a word, he left. And she cried a cry for every little broken piece of her poor heart.

* * *

And Naruto found out where he and Sakura-chan was. They were friends. Best friends. That was it. To him, anyway. Even if it wasn't like that for her, he still needed to sort out his feelings, organize them.

So he came back to Hinata-chan. He explained to her, and asked for her back. Of course, she accepted; she was _Hinata-chan_. And for the first time in their relationship, Naruto saw realized that Hinata was someone he couldn't take for granted. She was his girlfriend, not the person who always waited around for him. She was his sweetheart, his lover, his _everything_.

So he made love to her.

And that was why it was not until approximately nine o' clock that night did Naruto realize that he had forgotten to untie Sakura from the kitchen chair. He felt horrible, but he knew that he couldn't go to her. It wasn't fair to Hinata-chan or to Sakura-chan. So, he called his other best friend, the one that he could always depend on, to go see Sakura.

"Hey, Sasuke, I need your help."

"What the--? Idiot, I was about to go to sleep!"

* * *

It was like a dream come true for Sasuke. He was in his favorite blue-striped pajamas, about to sleep, and maybe dream a little about the amazingly attractive girl he'd kidnapped from the middle of the road, when the phone rang. For once, his annoying friend said stuff worth listening to. _Really_ worth listening to.

So ten minutes later, he stood in front of a whitewashed house, one with a very modern, futuristic structure. There was no garden. He imagined the inside would be decorated in the same simplistic, open style. As he stood admiring her stylish red door, he contemplated whether he should knock, or ring the bell, or what. He decided against both, remembering what Naruto had told him.

_"She's tied up to a kitchen chair, Sasuke. So you have to break in or something, okay?"_

He sighed and looked around for an opening. After two minutes of walking around the house, he found that the side door that led to the kitchen was unlocked. _Perfect_, he thought.

He didn't know what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't this. He wasn't expecting to see her pretty face staring pointlessly into space, its expression so sad that he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He wasn't expecting her to be in a short, red, silky, spaghetti-strapped nightgown. She really did seem to like the color red. He didn't expect the nightgown to be disheveled, slipping off at the chest area, giving him a very, very, very good view of her cute boobs. He also didn't expect the nightgown to be so high up on her thighs, and he could clearly see her white panties.

_Okay, stop. Believe it or not, I'm not here to voyeur_, he told himself. But he couldn't stop voyeuring, because for one, she didn't even notice that he'd entered the room. He was free to admire her long, slim legs.

"Hey…Sakura," he awkwardly started, feeling that he should do something.

Her green eyes slowly flickered up to him. A trickle of surprise crept into her depressed face.

"S-Sasuke!"

She tried to wipe off the remainder of her telltale tears with her arms, but they were tied behind her back. She seemed really embarrassed about the situation she was in, he could tell, because she started blushing.

"U-Um…Sasuke…if you please…could you please untie me?" she asked with uncertainty, not brave enough to look into his eyes.

Yes, that was one quote from her he'd remember and keep for his dirty dreams…

…But Sasuke decided he hated seeing her like this. Sure, like this, he could get all the eye candy he wanted, but she was just so sad. And he just hated seeing her sad, even though he haven't known her for very long. He knew the whole story, because Naruto had told him. He knew Sakura loved his best friend. He knew Sakura was heart-broken. So he decided it was best to cheer her up.

"No, I won't."

Now she looked right into his eyes, confused.

"W-What? Why, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.

"Don't know, Sakura. I don't really feel like it. I feel like seeing a girl tied up to the kitchen chair, half-naked."

She was bewildered.

"WHAT?! H-Half-naked? I'm not half-naked!"

But she looked down at herself and she realized he was right. She tried to adjust her nightgown but she couldn't, as her hands were not free.

"Y-YOU! I knew it all along! You _are_ a perv!"

He shrugged again.

"Most guys are."

She fumed at him and looked the other way.

"Fine. Whatever. Voyeur all you want, perv. My life's over anyway."

She began to sink into the depression state again. _I've got to do something fast_, he thought. So he went behind her chair, and placed his hands on her shoulder blades, and gave her a light massage.

"What are you doing?!" came her alarmed voice.

"I'm trying to distract you."

His hands slid lower and lower down her front, then went under her nightgown, where he gently massaged her breasts. He gave her soft nipples a light twist. When he leaned down to look at her face, she was blushing furiously.

"S-Stop! Hey! You! Y-Y-You get your hands off of m-me!"

He just chuckled. It seemed to him like this was working. Well, anything for her to stop feeling sad.

"HEY!"

He had now walked to her front, and delivered a bright red hickey on her throat.

"S-Stop…"

She didn't sound so sure now. He was glad. So he continued kissing her, massaging her, and licking her. His other hand rested on her right thigh, and it was beginning to get restless. It toyed with her wet, wet panties.

Sasuke decided against sexing her today, even though that was the thing he wanted most right now. He knew she was not completely recovered yet, and well, if he wanted something more with this girl, he'd have to wait. But right now, teasing her, tempting her, distracting her from her heartache…that was fine, right? Apparently, he thought so.

Two fingers went under her panties, but they didn't do anything rough. They didn't enter. They just massaged the surface of her sex. Even then, she was really, really getting wet.

She was past protesting now, but he could still that she looked like she wanted to die of embarrassment. He smirked-smiled at her, and gave her a last light kiss full on the lips.

"There," he grinned. "Did that distract you from your heartache?"

She was speechless, dumbfounded. The answer was yes, because now, she was really, _really_ distracted.

"Good. So…I'll untie you now, Sakura."

He untied her, and she couldn't look into his eyes the whole time. Now though, not because she was sad, but because she was embarrassed about how she'd reacted to his touches. He proceeded to pour her a cup of orange juice and placed it on the table beside her.

"Cheer up, okay?"

He gave her a gentle, breezy kiss on her cheek. Then, he was gone. She found a post-it note next to her orange juice. It said, "089-2820788. Call me anytime you need a distraction, Sakura. Maybe you'll like me even more than my best friend."

* * *

Author's Note: I'd like to here about your feelings on this chapter. Like, what effect did this chapter have on you? :) Thank you.


	4. The Hole Called Love

4 The Hole Called Love

What was there to lose? Nothing. She'd lost the love of her life, Naruto, whom she'd loved for nine years. Nine freakin' years! Most people would call her obsessed. But she knew she wasn't. She just happened to be unlucky, tripped and fell into a deep, shitty hole called love. She just couldn't find a way to get out of that hole for nine freakin' years.

So there was nothing to lose, right? That Sasuke guy was really good-looking too. Such a tease. Maybe he was the person that could get her out of this stupid hellhole.

* * *

"I'll try you out."

"Sorry?"

"I said, I'll try you out, Sasuke."

Ah, so that was what this was all about. She'd decided to use the number he gave her after all. His lips turned slightly upward.

"Where would you like to go, Sakura?"

"Huh?"

"Just tell me. We've got a date."

"I-I…Uh…the a-art gallery?"

"Which one? Is the 808 Art Gallery okay?"

"S-Sure!"

"Pick you up in half an hour."

* * *

The painting she was looking at was doing _nothing_ to help her situation. It was of a saddish purple sky with bare tree branches all over the place. Sigh. She peeked at the handsome guy next to her. Why'd she agree to do this again? And why'd she pick the _art gallery_ out of all the places to date?! Sure, she really did like the art gallery, but that didn't mean that she'd have to reveal this nerdy weakness to other people!! She couldn't believe her own nerdiness.

"Sad, isn't it?"

She started. So, he was actually paying attention to the displays?

"Y-Yea."

He decided to tease her a bit.

"I didn't mean the painting."

She turned to look at him, confused.

"You. You're sad."

She hfmped at him and walked away towards the next display.

"Tell me, what do you see in Naruto?"

She looked at him. This wasn't a sarcastic question. He _really_ was curious about it.

"I don't know. I don't know what I see in him, Sasuke. I'm so stupid."

She sighed again and pretended to be absorbed in the painting. She couldn't do that for long, since an arm snaked around her waist from behind and pulled her close.

"But you've got his best friend now, hm?" he whispered against her soft cheek.

She was about to push him away, but decided against it. _I'll play along. Yes, that's the way. I have to have an open mind. If I act happy around this guy, I'll soon be happy for real…_

She nuzzled back into him.

"Hmm…yes. I've got you, haven't I, Sasuke?"

To her surprise, he let go. He looked slightly displeased, but that might have been her imagination., because the expression disappeared almost immediately.

"Let's go eat. It's almost lunchtime."

"Sure!" she smiled at him her cheeriest smile, and followed him into the Italian restaurant.

* * *

This was getting too much. The girl was being annoying. _Excessively annoying._ Sure, he knew that she was trying to be nice and not make him feel bad, but her pretend-happy act annoyed him to no ends.

Not to mention, she was a _really, really_ bad actress. She giggled at everything he said. She acted interested at every story he had to tell (and he purposely put in some really lame and boring ones to see how she'd react). She smiled too much. Hell, she even added a "kun" at the end of his name now.

"Sasuke-kun, do you want to eat the mushrooms? I don't like the mushrooms."

Her voice dripped with sweet insincerity.

_Calm, Sasuke, calm. She'd just been heartbroken. You can't really drag her into the bathroom and fuck her senseless right now just because she's being a bit annoying. No, no, no. _

Without replying, he stabbed three mushrooms from her plate, put them in his mouth, and glared at her as he chewed. For a moment, she looked at him, confused, but she resumed her stupid, _stupid_ happy-act.

"S-Sasuke-kun? Is anything wrong? Are you sick?"

She reached a small hand over to measure his non-existent temperature, but he caught her wrist.

"_Stop it,_ Sakura. It's _annoying_."

"W-What?!"

"Stop pretending you're happy. It's pissing me off."

After a moment of comprehension, she hotly snatched her hand away from his grip and glared at him.

"Oh, so there goes all my effort to be nice to you. This is over, Sasuke. It's not working."

She opened her zebra-striped bag, pulled out some money, slapped it on the table, and got out of the restaurant as fast as she could. A few minutes later, she felt a pull on her elbow. Ugh. Not _him_ again.

"What do you want?" she demanded angrily.

He grabbed her bag and shoved some money into it.

"I'm paying," was all he said.

"Whatever."

She tried to walk away again, but he wouldn't let go of her.

"Oh, no, you're not just going to walk away."

"What?! Why not?! You just said you're annoyed with me, and now I'm annoyed with you too. Mutual understanding, okay? So let go of me, so we can both go back to our own lives."

"You're a terrible date."

"All the more reason why you should take your dirty hands off me."

He smirked.

"I'm not letting you off that easy. You annoyed me for a whole day and you're going to need to get some punishment."

"Wha--?! Oh, _come on_. Just go away already."

Again she tried unsuccessfully to get away.

"Hey, Sakura, didn't I tell you that you have me?"  
"Well, yea, you did, but _you_ don't have _me_."

"I know that."

She gave him an extremely exasperated look.

"So," he explained, "you don't have to pretend that I have you. You don't have to pretend to be happy around me all the time. Just act how you feel…I'll try to understand."

For a long while, she looked at him. From his jet-black hair to his sharp eyes to his straight nose and prim lips. Was this really the man that'd been sent to help her out of the hole? A raindrop fell from the sky and landed on the tip of her nose. He wiped it away. For some unexplainable reason, she blushed really hard.

"Y-You little liar."

"Hm…?"

"You let me act stupidly a whole day, and didn't say a single word until now."

"No worries, I'm going to collect due punishment anyway."

Her face got redder.

"And what's that?"

He smirked again. The rain was beginning to pour down now.

"Get in the car, and you'll find out."

_Yes, this guy…he might be able to help me out of the hole after all. _


	5. Let's Play Badminton!

5 Let's Play Badminton!

She had been expecting Sasuke's "punishment" to be harsher. Like, tying her to the bed and doing hardcore sex or whatever. Yes, she those thoughts were a bit perverted, but honestly, that was what Sasuke's eyes conveyed when he said the word "punishment." Actually, now that she thought about it, Sasuke almost always gave her that kind of feeling when she was around him—sometimes, she felt like he wanted to _eat_ her or something.

Not entirely unpleasant, but…

She hadn't been expected Sasuke's "punishment" to be this sweet, this tender. She blushed more that night than she ever had in her nine years of liking Naruto.

* * *

Again, for some stupid, unexplainable reason, Sasuke couldn't find it in his stupid, illogical heart to dot he usual thing he did with girls—take her back to her house, get invited in, and fuck. Was it because she was too annoying? Or was it because she was so honest to him about her interest in Naruto? Or was it because…he liked her?

Well, whatever the reason, here he was, parked in front of her house. She hadn't gotten down yet. She looked at him expectedly, her green eyes fierce with determination. Unfortunately, he didn't know what to do. What was there to do if you crossed out sex?

"Well?" she pressed when two silent minutes had gone by.

The sound of the heavy rain coming down on the car was deafening. His head was spinning. What to do, what to do, _what to do? _As if she knew what was going on in his mind, she sighed and smiled at him—a sincere smile this time.

"Nevermind, Sasuke. I'll be going now. It was a wonderful evening, thank you for taking me out."

And just like that, she was gone. He watched helplessly as her red MaxMara coat started to drip with the rain.

_No, not this time. I'm not going to let you get away this time._

As if on impulse, he rushed out of the car.

"Wait," he started as he roughly grabbed her arm from behind.

She raised an eyebrow.

He kissed her. Right on the mouth. Slow, deliberate, tantalizing. Her initial surprise turned into passion. It lasted for quite a long time.

"This," he breathed when their lips parted, "is just the beginning of the punishment."

"W-What?!"

"I won't have sex with you."

Now, she wasn't expecting _that_.

"…Not until you like me more than that idiot," he finished.

_Oh._

"No offense, Sasuke, but that's going to be _hard_."

He smirked.

"You sure?"

"I wish I wasn't."

"Wish granted."

And he kissed her again. Neither of them noticed that they were both dripping wet.

* * *

**3 Months Later**

"No, stop, Sasuke, this is at a freakin' _badminton_ court!"

"Hmm?"

His hand went further up her shirt and groped her breasts. He rubbed the nipple.

"D-Do you even hear me?!"

"Yea…"

He kissed her shoulder. His other hand slipped under her sports skirt._ Rub, rub._

"A-Ah! S-Sasuke!"

She was pressed against the wall, and he was behind her…doing all these frustrating things to her.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"Y-Y-YES! This is a _badminton_ court, Sasuke! It's for playing _badminton_!"

"You don't sound so sure."

He swiftly pulled down her panties.

"H-Hey! What if someone comes in and sees us?!"

"They won't."

"How do you know?!"

"Booked this court and all the others too."

"WHAT?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Shh. Of course, it's not totally soundproof. But if you want people to hear you, I've got no objection."

A finger teased all around her sex.

"S-Sasuke! This is embarrassing! This is at a _badminton_ court!"

He sighed.

"Well, if you'd prefer it that way."

He let go of her. Confused, she turned around to look at him. He'd gone to pick up his badminton racket.

"Ah, w-we're going to continue playing, right?"

She picked up her racket from the bench nearby. She looked around for her panties. Where _were_ they?

When she looked up, Sasuke was standing in front of her. Close.

"You don't need this."

He wrenched the racket from her grasp and threw it over his shoulder. _Clang._

"What are you doing?!"

"Hmm…you said you preferred it badminton style. Personally though, I'd rather touch you on my own…"

"WHAT?!"

He pressed her against the wall. Then, he slipped the racket under her shirt, under her bra, and pressed. Her nipples poked through the holes in the racket. He licked her nipples there.

"A-Ahhh!!"

With the holding end of the racket, he used to tease her maidenhead. First, he rubbed it down the length of her thighs, and then got closer and closer to her sex. When he got there, he slipped his own two fingers in.

"AHHHH!!"

He began pumping her. A hot energy rang out through her body, and she could not resist it. She clung desperately onto his firm shoulders. _Pump, pump, pump._ She tried to make no noise, not succeeding.

When they were finished, the racket and her shirt lay forgotten, on the floor. Her face was red beyond imagination. And his face, well, it was smugly satisfied.

How could he not be? There were badminton racket marks on her breasts. He wanted to giggle like crazy. And she looked so red.

"Let's go, Sakura. Badminton session's over."

"Y-Yea!"

She picked up her shirt on the floor and pulled it over her head.

"Let me ask you a question though…why a _badminton court_ of all places?!"

He shrugged.

"You were sucking at playing badminton with me, I suppose. Annoyed the hell out of me. Needed to give you some punishment."

She tried not to blush, to no avail.

He put both arms around her waist and pulled her to him.

"…And are you seriously asking why a badminton court? It isn't stranger than all the other places we did this," he smirked again.

"Argh!"

She buried her face in his shirt as images of Sasuke teasing her in places she never thought possible ran through her head. Her room. His room. The hospital. The circus. The kitchen. At an office. In the swimming pool. Tease, tease, tease. But never sex.

He was true to his word. But by now, she was wishing for the sex. He was too convincing. But did she like him better than Naruto by now? She didn't know yet. She'll just have to wait and see.

"Sasuke?"

"What."

"Where's…my panties?"

"In my pocket."

"Can you give them to me?"

His eyes sparkled at her mischievously and he began to walk out of the court.

"Of course not."

"HEY!"

She had to go home with no panties on.


	6. Selfishness

6 Selfishness

Hinata was an excellent secretary. She had her photocopies done in record time and was a very fast typer. All her files were kept in alphabetical order. She was patient, kind, and polite to impatient, unkind, and impolite visitors. As a plus, she was _pretty_. Which was why she wasn't surprised when Kakashi-san decided to hand her another free-ticket to someplace again.

"Here, Hinata-san—a free first-class ticket to Bangkok. Thank you for being such an efficient worker these past few months," he held it out to her.

Her heart stopped. Did he just say _Bangkok_? That was one place she wanted to go. _Really_ wanted to go. She'd been there once before, and the shopping was _crazy_. Multiple malls in the same area, cheap clothes, shoes, and bags! It was a shopper's paradise, no matter how limited your money was. And the food…well, she loved the food. Naruto thought she was crazy because his favorite food was ramen.

She stared at the purple ticket.

"Well?"

Kakashi-san waved it in front of her face. She grabbed it.

"T-Thank you, Kakashi-san!"

* * *

Naruto wanted to see Kungfu Panda so bad, but Hinata wasn't here. She was in Bangkok, shopping, probably. He _could_ call Sasuke up, but then it wouldn't be fun. Sasuke only liked watching those award-winning movies that required deep thinking but no normal person would understand unless they went to search for the analysis on the net.

That left Sakura. But she liked him, didn't she? Would it be wrong if he asked her out with him, like before? Was it okay to watch movies with a friend, just a friend? Is this going to hurt her?

_Naw_, he reasoned with himself. _She's probably fallen for that idiot Sasuke by now_…right?

His need for entertainment took over and he called her.

* * *

Something was pulled downwards in her heart when she heard his voice. It was cautious pain.

_Why are you doing this to me? I was healing…._

"Y-Yea, sure, Naruto."

_Oh, no…Not again…I can't even reject him…_

"Yea, bye…"

Sakura sighed and buried her face in her pillow. So much for trying. Her phone rang again. This time, it was Sasuke.  
"Hey, Sakura."

"Hey…"

"Want to go out and see Kungfu Panda with me tomorrow?"

"S-Sorry, Sasuke. Tomorrow I'm busy..."

_No, I'm not! Save me from Naruto, please!_

"Oh, sure, that's alright. Bye, then."

"Bye."

_So much for trying. _

* * *

That was weird. She'd never rejected him before, in the three months that he'd known her. Her voice also sounded…strange. Something was definitely going on.

The next morning, he found himself squatting behind the pot plant at the side of her house, eyes trained at the doorstep. He refused to acknowledge himself as a stalker. No, he was just clarifying what business she had that was so important that she had to brush him off. Yes, that was it.

Soon enough, the front door open and a pair of slim legs stepped out. He nearly did a double take. Now he was _really_ curious. She was wearing a short aquamarine mini-skirt and a black blouse. Her make-up was immaculately pretty and her hair was carefully curled and styled. She had on black leggings and high heels. She was _never_ this dressed up for him. At most, with him, she just put on a simple dress and lip gloss.

_Who could she be meeting up with? _

Sasuke followed her at a safe distance when he saw that she'd gotten in a taxi. Ten minutes later, Sasuke was following Sakura as she walked into the Mias Square, the hip meeting point for all trendy people. _Mias Square…that must mean that whoever she's meeting, is a peer…ahh…so this is not a business meeting._

He watched as she fidgeted around with her hair and bow-clutch as she waited for whomever she was waiting for. After five minutes, she was tired of standing around and sat down on a nearby bench, looking dejected. Sasuke felt like punching whoever stood her up like that, even though he'd never straightforwardly admit it to her. He himself was never late for a date in his life.

Then, her cellphone rang. Her startled green eyes searched frantically in her tiny clutch for the phone. When she finally found it, he saw her hesitate a moment before answering. Sasuke couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could read her face expression. It was hope. Sad, hopeless hope. When she hung up, she immediately got up and began to walk briskly.

_So whoever she's meeting isn't only late, he tells her to change meeting places?!_

Sasuke was burning with curiosity. The Sakura he knew didn't let people tell her what to do. Whoever this person is, he/she must be pretty important.

Watching her hips swinging this way and that the whole time, he found that they had ended up at the Mias Movie Theater. Then, he saw who she was meeting…

That _idiot_, Naruto. How _stupid_ could he get?! Asking her out?! But what hurt him wasn't the fact that Naruto had asked her out. He'd known Naruto a long time, and he knew that Naruto really wasn't thinking anything when he asked her out. What hurt him was that she still had hope that someday, Naruto would turn and look at her—hence the dress-up. What hurt him was that no matter how hard _he_ tried, she wouldn't look at him as someone more important than his best friend.

A hard, cold feeling, one not unlike fury, engulfed his very being. His hands clenched and unclenched as he watched the pink-haired girl smile at Naruto expectantly. He knew he had no right to be angry, because she had already warned him about this.

_"I don't think I'll stop liking Naruto anytime soon, Sasuke," she'd said._

_"That's okay," he'd said. _

But in reality, it was _not_ okay. What _did_ she see in Naruto? What did Naruto have that he didn't? He wanted to walk right in between that annoying little pink-haired bitch and that idiot and do something disruptive but he knew he had no right to.

He stood frozen and watched the empty doorway of the theater many minutes after the couple had disappeared inside. He had to force himself to look away, to walk away from that place. Silent tears fell.

* * *

Five minutes into the movie, Sakura's guilty conscience kicked in. Was it right to be here? Was it right to blow Sasuke off for Naruto? Sasuke, who'd comforted her heart while Naruto continued to hack away at the already-broken pieces…

"HAHAHAHAHA!!"

Sakura looked at the handsome blonde boy beside her and decided. No, it wasn't right. Why had it dawned on her _just now_?

"Naruto," she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hmm?"

His eyes were still glued to the screen. She sighed.

"I really need to leave right now."

He turned to her, confused.

"Wha? Why? Are you crazy? We're watching a movie, Sakura-chan."

He turned back to the screen.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I really can't do this. I shouldn't be here."

"What do you mean, Sakura-chan?"

"Please don't call me and ask me out one-on-one again, Naruto…"

Naruto's face, illuminated blue from the light from the screen, was confused for a moment, but then it lit up with understanding.

"Oh…I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! I'm so insensitive!"

His cute, boyish face really did look sorry, like a puppy that'd disappointed its master. Sakura took a long look at that face, but she didn't really see it. She saw the contours of another face, one with dark, cat-like eyes and a stern lip. She saw spiky black hair. _Sasuke._

"Bye, Naruto," she gave him her most firm smile, and rushed out.

Naruto couldn't enjoy the rest of the movie. He knew that it was impossible now, to be close to Sakura again. It wasn't fair to her. He wanted to beat himself up over his own shallow selfishness.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I have a completely random question. Feel free to answer in your review if you'd like. If a Naruto movie was made, who'd star in it? Who'd be Naruto/Sasuke/Sakura? Hmm? Just wondering, really. I just fingering with the idea of Erika Toda as Sakura...of course, she'd have to dye her hair pink and put in green contacts. :)


	7. Right and Wrong

Right and Wrong

When Sasuke saw her number ringing his cell phone, he was more than a bit shocked. Wasn't she supposed to be watching a movie with Naruto?

"Hello?" he struggled to keep his voice listless.

"S-Sasuke?"

"What?"

"I-I'm really sorry that I told you that I was busy yesterday. I-I'm not now...and if you still want to we could still catch that movie…"

It was like his mind started to boil.

"I know," there was a hint of fury in his tone now.

"W-What?"

"Nevermind, Sakura. Let's not see each other anymore. I really don't see any use in forcing you to like me."

"What?! What are you talking about, Sasuke?! I-"

"Bye, Sakura."

Even after he'd hung up, he regretted it. He felt terrible as he drove home, top speed. Worse, it was raining. Just like that day, three months ago, on their first date. They'd kissed, and it was sweet. But everything was now over and sadly, he didn't even have the right to be angry at her.

* * *

She was also speeding, going one-sixty miles per hour. A part of her was confused. Why was he so cold to her? Had she done anything wrong? Well, obviously, she had, by going out with Naruto, but he didn't know that, did he? _I was going to confess that to him when the time is right anyway…_

And another part of her was very, very worried. What did he mean by "let's not see each other anymore?" It could mean, one, he found another girl, one better than her. Two, he just didn't like her. Three, she did something wrong.

Sakura thought choice one was most likely as it was really easy to find pretty girls, for one like Sasuke. With his looks, he could practically have any girl he wanted. The third choice was second-most-likely. It obviously couldn't be that he found out about Naruto, right? So, she tried to think back on their last date.

Images of him fighting her for the softer pillow in her room came into her mind. They basically had an—ahem—pillow fight. Minus all the kissing, of course. Could it be that he's mad about her hitting with the teddy bear too many times?

"Oh, crap!"

She quickly swerved, avoiding a pole she'd almost hit. No, too much thinking about Sasuke during driving was _definitely_ not good. It was too much like drinking and driving. She'd figure all this out when she reached Sasuke's place.

* * *

Five minutes after he'd arrived home, Sakura's blue Yaris appeared in his driveway. He peeked out from the curtains. She looked worried. _Serves you right, _he thought, then caught himself. He was acting too immature.

His eyes followed her as she moved to press on his doorbell. Soon, he heard the familiar buzz. For the first time in his life, Sasuke did not know what to do when a girl came pressing on his doorbell. Usually, if he liked them, he let them in, and did whatever he liked with them. If he didn't like them, he just shooed them away with a cold, disgusted glare.

The buzz increased in frequency and he started to get annoyed. _That woman can be so annoying when she wants to. _After a few moments' consideration, he decided he'd tell her what he knew and why she should get out of his life and never come back. Yes, that was the right choice. The logical choice.

Just when she was starting to think that Sasuke would never open his door, and she'd have to forcefully find another way in, the door swung open. _There he is._ Looking as heartbreakingly handsome as ever, even with that sour expression on his face.

"H-Hi, Sasuke. May I come in?" she ventured.

He frowned.

"You'd better stay out."

His tone was emotionless, but threatening, nonetheless.

Her pretend-casual look crumbled into worried confusion.

"Why, Sasuke? What's wrong?"

That did it. _How __**dare**__ the annoying woman ask "what's wrong?"_ _What's wrong?! You, that's what! You make me so annoyed, and you make me feel terrible! _He grabbed her petite wrist and pulled her inside, and shut the door behind her loudly, then spun around to glare at her.

"I saw you going out with Naruto today."

Shocked filled her green eyes, then, shame. She looked like she was about to cry.

"I have no right to be angry, I know, Sakura, because we agreed on this," he hissed, "but I am. Now, can you leave?"

He didn't bother to conceal his anger anymore. Sakura honestly felt like crying. There was no excuse for her actions, even though technically, she wasn't in the wrong. But this was a relationship, not a textbook, not a machine. It was about emotions, not about what was technically right and what was technically wrong.

"I'm sorry!"

Her eyes started to fill with tears.

"Don't be," he told her bitterly, "what you did was already agreed on."

"No! No, I was wrong! Sasuke, I'm so sorry! I—"

He didn't bother to hear the rest, because he couldn't. He also couldn't bear to see her tear-stained face, crying, because of him. So, he swiftly shoved her outside and shut and locked the door in her face. He was _not_ going to be weak because of that woman's tears. _Never._

She kept pounding on his wooden door for several minutes, until she could feel her fists throbbing. Bruises were starting to form. The whole time, she sobbed.

"Sasuke! Please, I'm sorry! I know what I did was wrong, and that it was wrong to even hope that Naruto would ever like me! Whatever you say about our terms about our relationship, _I _was wrong! Please, forgive me just this one time!"

He couldn't keep the tears from falling as he silently cried on the other side of the door as he leaned against it. He wished he could open the door and tell her that everything was okay, and that he'd forgiven her about that little escapade. But he was Sasuke, and had pride, and was logical. Opening the door and forgiving her would only hurt him more. He'd come to like—no, love—her and if she continued to stay by his side while her heart was someone else's, well, he was sure he couldn't take that. _Better to stop now than later..._

She continued to try and communicate with him through the door.

"S-Sasuke," her voice was hoarse now, from the crying and shouting, "I-I'm so sorry…please. Please forgive me. I don't expect you to come back and be my boyfriend or whatever b-but…"

A hiccup escaped.

"…Please, forgive me. I never meant you any h-harm."

She began to cry again. He'd never stopped.

"…I-I did like Naruto before, that was true. I n-never meant to lie to you. But now I've met you…and when I m-met up with him today…I realized I d-didn't like him anymore."

She paused, Sasuke guessed, to wipe her tears.

"...I-I…I think I'm in love with you now, Sasuke."

She began to cry noisily again, in the midst of her hiccups.

"S-so please, d-d-don't leave me! I-I really l-like you! M-More than N-Naruto! I-I'm s-sure!"

She'd leaned her entire frame on the door, and when it pulled open, she fell over. Without a word, Sasuke kneeled down and hugged her tightly. Surprised, and still leaking tears, Sakura froze.

"S-Sasuke, I-I'm so sorry a-and if," a sob wet his t-shirt, "i-if you d-don't like me anymore I won't give up! I-I'll flirt with y-you until you like me again! B-Because I really lov—"

"Shut up, you stupid woman. I love you too."

He fully dragged her inside and shut the door, then proceeded to kiss her. She felt like she was in heaven. His hot mouth on her, claiming its territory passionately.

"You owe me big, Sakura," he told her when he'd finished.

"Hm?"

He leaned down and wiped away a tear-stain.

"A big punishment, Sakura. I can have sex with you now, right?"

She immediately flushed and tried to squirm out of his grasp. He smirked.

"Let's get started, shall we?" he said, as a naughty hand crept up her skirt.

THE END

Author's Note: I am very sorry for the long wait for this chapter! Let's say I was in...circumstances where I did NOT have a single moment's privacy. - -'' ...anyway, I am still debating whether to end this story here or not... :) Also, as an interesting fact, I thought you readers might like to know that this story is based on a true story--my own. Unfortunately, I am still stuck on loving "Naruto" and as of now, I have not found a "Sasuke." :( So, this story was made, mainly, to cheer me up, in hopes that one day I might have a happy ending too. :) That's all! I hope you enjoyed!


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